FARGO, N.D. — Thousands of shivering, tired residents got out while they could and others prayed that miles of sandbagged levees would hold Friday as the surging Red River threatened to unleash the biggest flood North Dakota’s largest city has ever seen.
The agonizing decision to stay or go came as the final hours ticked down before an expected crest Sunday, when the ice-laden river could climb as high as 42 feet, nearly 2 feet higher than the record set 112 years ago.
“It’s to the point now where I think we’ve done everything we can,” said resident Dave Davis, whose neighborhood was filled with backhoes and tractors building an earthen levee. “The only thing now is divine intervention.”
Even after the floodwaters crest, the water might not begin receding before Wednesday, creating a lingering risk of a failure in levees put together mostly by volunteers.
National Guard troops fanned out in the bitter cold to inspect floodwalls for leaks and weak spots, and residents piled sandbags on top of 12 miles of snow-covered dikes.
The freezing weather froze the bags solid, turning them into what townspeople hoped would be a watertight barrier.
Hundreds more Guard troops poured in from across the state and neighboring South Dakota, along with scores of American Red Cross workers from as far away as Modesto, Calif.
Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker cautiously expressed hope that the river would stay below 43 feet — the limit of the reinforced dikes. Walaker said there was not enough time to build the levees any higher.
The freezing temperatures actually helped stave off worse flooding; officials said the river was rising more slowly because the freezing temperatures prevented snow from melting.
Hundreds in Fargo were asked to evacuate. Some residents were roused from their sleep about 2 a.m. Friday and told to leave after authorities found a leak in a dike. They expected to be able to patch it.
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Wyoming could see spring flooding
CHEYENNE — Warmer temperatures and rainfall could cause flooding in some portions of Wyoming this spring, according to preliminary forecasts.
Jim Fahey of the National Weather Service said Wyoming’s wettest months are April, May and part of June.
Most of the state is at 98 percent to 100 percent of normal snowpack amounts, Fahey said.
“There’s no high danger right now,” he said. “We’ve still got a lot of time. We’ve just got to watch for rainstorms in May and warm-up in May, which will create a lot of water where it shouldn’t be.” The Associated Press
